Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

FDA OKs Pioneering Stem Cell Trial

First-ever test of therapy on spinal cord injuries hailed as milestone

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 23, 2009 3:00 AM CST

(Newser) – The FDA has approved the world's first-ever human trial of a medical treatment using embryonic stem cells, the New York Times reports. The move is being hailed as a watershed moment for medical research. Biotech company Geron plans to inject the cells—which can turn into any type of cell in the body—into people with new, severe spinal cord injuries in an attempt to repair some of the damage.

The trial isn't expected to yield miraculous results, Geron's chief executive cautioned, but is intended to test the therapy's safety. Regulators deny that the decision has anything to do with the change in administration, although Barack Obama has signaled that he is willing to overturn Bush administration policies that banned federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Late actor Christopher Reeve was a firm advocate for stem cell research. (AP Photo/Gary Sussman )

Embryonic stem cells can develop into any cell in the human body. (Shutter Stock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

This is the dawn of a new era in medical therapeutics. - Thomas B. Okarma, chief executive of Geron Corp.

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Oklahoma Bill Would Ban Fetuses in Food

Sen. Ralph Shortey read about this, um, threat online

(NEWSER) - Oklahoma Sen. Ralph Shortey is on a mission. He's introduced a bill banning any food products "which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients." Is this a going problem in Oklahoma, you ask? Well no, but Shortey read about it once on the Internet, he tells the AP , and the bill is intended to raise "public awareness" of the issue. He insists the bill is serious, and says it's being misunderstood. More»

Scientists Turn Stem Cells Into Working Sperm

Researchers see hope for infertile men

(NEWSER) - Researchers have managed to produce sperm cells from embryonic stem cells—and for the first time, the sperm worked, resulting in healthy baby mice. Researchers in Japan mixed the embryonic stem cells with certain proteins and hormones. They converted the resulting cells into germ cells, which they implanted in the testes of mice. There, they developed into working sperm, Discover reports. Researchers hope the discovery will lead to male infertility treatments, notes ScienceNow . More»

Scientists: We Can Make Pigs Grow Human Organs

Process has already been used to make mice grow rat organs

(NEWSER) - Japanese researchers have hit on a stem cell breakthrough that they say could essentially solve the organ shortages problem—but fair warning, it’s weird. By injecting stem cells from rats into the embryos of mice that had been genetically modified to be unable to grow their own organs, the researchers have been able to create mice with rat organs. And they believe the same process could be used to create pigs with human parts, the Telegraph reports. More»

Court Overturns Stem Cell Ban

Federal funding can now be used for human embryonic cell research

(NEWSER) - A federal appeals court overturned the ban on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research today in a 2-1 ruling. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that such funding did not violate a 1996 law forbidding the use of federal money for research in which an embryo is destroyed, according to the Wall Street Journal . It’s a significant victory for President Obama, who made lifting George W. Bush’s restrictions on stem cell research funding one of his first acts as president. More»

Paralyzed Patient Undergoes Stem Cell Experiment

21-year-old got drug 6 months ago, but it's too early to gauge results

(NEWSER) - A 21-year-old nursing student in Alabama paralyzed from the chest down in a car accident says he's "doing well" after receiving an experimental drug made from embryonic stem cells, but that it's too early to gauge his prospects of being able to walk again. Timothy Atchison tells the Washington Post that he received the drug in the closely watched experiment six months ago shortly after his accident. "We’re just in the early stages right now," he says. "It’s not at the stage to really know what’s going on." More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

FDA OKs Pioneering Stem Cell Trial